Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1887-10-12
A REMARKABLE MAN.

What q fellow would do and how he
would feel without having any bones
to walk around with, to most people
would be hard to conceive, but TO
John Hughes, who is now an inmate OF
the Charity Hospital, on Blackwell's
Island, there is no difficulty ABOUT
forming an opinion. He has bone
or two left 10 his system, out taking
his anatomy as g. whole he is ABOUT
as much without any bones as any
thing living. He is not particularly
unhappy, in his present condition,
hut still he does not advise everyone
to get rid of their bones for the sake
of ENJOYING life as much as he does.
Hughes has had an eventful career,
and though he has just begun to climb
into the fifties he has passed through
enough variety of scenes, pleasures,
and hardships to make decent his.
tories for half g dozen men. He was
born on a New Bedford whaling ship,
and has ever since troi the deck OF a
vessel of some sort. The particular
portion of his life which may be said
to throw some light upon his present
disease, was, that spent upon little ISL
and in the Southern Pacific Ocean. 1t
was through no choice OF his that he
visited this island. 1t was all the
work OF one of those terrific cyclones
that loiter around the Southern Pa
cifc waiting for something to run
against it. 1t struck the ship on
which Hughes was sailing as mate.
and when the vessel turned a double
back-action handspring, Hughes was
thrown into the life boat and set
adrift in the fury of the storm.
How long he was in the boat Hughes
has no knowledge, but he thinks 1t
was several days, and the first that
he remembers was finding himself
upon q sandy beach, with the sun
pouring full upon his upturned face.
His clothes were dry, showing that he
had been on the shore some time, and
his emaciated form indicated that he
had been days without food. He was
much farther inland than the boat.
AS soon as he could collect his senses
he crawled to sheltered spot in the
woodland, which fortunately was
near spring. After getting water,
Thea came the search for food. 1t
was dreary hunt, but finally Hughes
found some birds, Of large size, feeding
upon q peculiar vegetable or plant,
having light yellow flower, and con-
cluded that he could stand what the
birds could. He ate freely of this
plant, and soon there followed g.
pleasant sense ofexhilaration or slim
ulation. The food was nourishing and
he gained strength. He made trips
over the island, but save the haaf-
sunken timbers in the sand that
marked the burial place of many g.
good ship, there was nothing to show
that the foot of a human being had
ever trod the desolate place. He
varied his vegetable diet by killing
some of the birds. He built g. little
hut out of the trees and boughs, and
prepared to spend the rest OF his days
on the island.
He had hopes, as is natural to. the
follower of the sea, OF being rescued
some day. There was ever g. chance
that g. vessel might be blown his way.
In order that the attention OF any
passing ship might be attracted, he
fastened his red shirt, every clear day,
to the top of dead tree. Days,
weeks, and months passed, and never
a sign OF sail. 1t was monoto-
nous existence, but it was finally
broken by the appearance OF long,
black streak on the horizon. This
Indicated that steamer was passing,
but would it come near the island
was the question that racked the
mind of the castaway. 1t did, and
the lookout's eye caught the waving
shirt. The steamer was stopped, g.
boat put off to the shore, and
Hughes, crazy with delight, was taken
aboard. The rescued man after g. few
days recovered the usual tenor OF his
mind, worked his passage on the YES
sci, which proved to be an ocean
tramp, to France. The day after the
vessel got to France Hughes shipped
on a brigantine to New York. Three
days before the vessel got here Hughes
stumbled over stool and broke his
leg. In was bad fracture, and it
was thought strange that such g. Sc
rious result should have followed so
slight q cause.
Hughes was taken to the Charity
Hospital when the vessel got to this
port. This was months ago. Both
the tibia and fibula bones in the leg
were found to be fractured by DR..
Willets. the attending surgeon. After
some preliminary treatment the leg
was done up in q plaster of Paris
bandage. It was supposed that the
usual result would follow, and that in
a few weeks the patient would be able
to hobble on a crutch for while and
then leave the hospital. At the end
of six weeks the upper portion OF the
plaster bandage was cut away. This
gave the patient the liberty to move
the leg. and it proved decidedly un-
fortunate. The foot and lower part
of the leg being heavy, the patient in
getting out of bed let his leg fall heav-
iiy, and it struck the edge of the bed
in the middle of the thigh bone,
which snapped as if it had been q
pipe-stem. This fracture was thought
to be due to the weakened condition
of the bone and muscles from mac
ton. The pain was so great that
Hughes became delirious, and after
his entire leg had been bandaged he